Investment Commentary – October 10th, 2017

Market Indices as of Market Close October 10th, 2017
Dow 22,830 (17.71% YTD)
S&P 2,550 (15.73% YTD)
NASDAQ 6,587 (22.37% YTD)
Gold $1,293 (10.87%)
OIL $51.03 (-10.52%)
US 10Y Treasury 2.34 (-10.34%)
Barclay Bond Aggregate (3.15% YTD)

U.S. stock futures slip with Fed minutes, earnings on tap

U.S. stock futures on Wednesday pointed to a tepid open lower, putting the Dow industrials on track to stay near the prior day’s record close.

Investors await the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, along with a ramp up for third-quarter corporate earnings season.

The release of the Fed minutes is “today’s key event, with traders looking for further insight into the Fed’s interest-rate plans,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note.
“With third-quarter earnings season getting under way—including results from Delta and BlackRock today and J.P. Morgan and Citigroup tomorrow—there should be no shortage of newsflow,” he added.

News around the web

Earnings outlook

With companies set to begin reporting third-quarter results in the coming days, Wall Street analysts are expecting further earnings growth. On average, earnings of companies in the S&P 500 Index are projected to increase 4.2% from the same period a year earlier, with the energy sector posting the strongest growth, according to FactSet.

Legislative momentum

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a federal budget plan for fiscal year 2018, moving the debate to the Senate. Passage of a spending plan is considered a prerequisite for deliberations on a Republican-backed overhaul of the tax system that would reduce corporate rates.

Hurricane blame

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma weighed on the labor market in September, the first time in seven years that the government reported a monthly decline in jobs rather than a gain. A net 33,000 jobs were lost, and the average gain over the last three months fell to 91,000.

On tap this week

Wednesday: Release of minutes from September 19–20 meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board

LEADERS & LAGGARDS

Leaders this past week included Utilities, Consumer goods and Financials. Laggards included Conglomerates.

The views presented are not intended to be relied on as a forecast, research or investment advice and are the opinions of the sources cited and are subject to change based on subsequent developments. They are not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investments.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-fight-for-direction-with-fed-minutes-earnings-on-tap-2017-10-11